Susu, a new restaurant describing its food as a mash-up of Mediterranean and Asian flavors, is moving into one of Chicago’s most storied dining rooms. The spot at 652 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop, once home to three‑Michelin‑starred Grace, is slated to become Susu’s new stage. Early menu teasers range from maki to an entire duck shawarma, and the team has already started hiring front‑of‑house leadership, even though there is still no firm opening date. The move throws fresh spotlight on a room that has seen several high-profile concepts pass through over the last decade.
What Susu Plans to Serve
Susu is branding itself as "mediterrasian," blending Mediterranean and Asian influences, and has zeroed in on the Randolph Street storefront at 652 W. Randolph St. in its rollout materials. Early menu descriptions reportedly run the gamut from maki rolls to a whole duck shawarma, and the group has begun soliciting general manager applications while the space is built out. Those details were reported by Crain's Chicago Business.
The Team Behind the Proposal
Alexander Willis brings region-specific chops to a menu that mixes Mediterranean and Asian techniques. Willis has cooked with the team behind Medi and its offshoot projects, where his food leaned into Lebanese and broader Mediterranean flavors. Coverage of those projects helps sketch out Willis's background and the operators in his circle, per ReportWire.
Big Space, Big History
The West Loop address is one of Chicago's most famous dining rooms. Grace earned three Michelin stars there before its abrupt closure in late 2017, and any new tenant walks in with instant comparison built into the lease. Susu setting its sights on 652 W. Randolph drops the project straight into a high-stakes slot for both critics and diners. Eater Chicago chronicled Grace's fall and its outsized role in the city's dining story.
Timeline, Paperwork and Unknowns
Business paperwork filed earlier this year lists former Grace owner Michael Olszewski and restaurateur Paul Alqas as managers of Susu, although it is not yet clear what their day-to-day roles will be or when the restaurant will actually open. Reporting notes that the project remains in an early phase and that many specifics are still up in the air. Those items are laid out in reporting by Crain's Chicago Business.
What It Means For The West Loop
Filling the former Grace room is as much a statement as it is a restaurant opening. The West Loop regularly recasts its marquee addresses with ambitious, well-funded concepts, and this space may be the most symbolic of the bunch. Whether Susu can juggle the weight of a fine-dining legacy with a more casual "mediterrasian" pitch will likely make it one of the neighborhood's most-watched debuts if and when it arrives. For more on how the neighborhood has shifted since Grace's closure, see Eater Chicago.
